MANTEO, N.C. — The national debate on Flock cameras has made its way to the Outer Banks.
The Dare County commissioners unanimously passed a resolution to remove the Flock cameras in unincorporated Dare County that the Dare County Sheriff's Office operates at their meeting Tuesday.
"Our leaders are citizens of this area and citizens of this country, just like we are. So our concerns will often be their concerns, and I appreciate that they're recognizing that," said Andrea O'Donnell, organizer of "Deflock Dare."
Organizers of the "Deflock Dare" movement took over the Dare County commissioners meeting Tuesday.
"We're all concerned about safety, and surveillance does help improve safety on some level because you then have proof. It's the networking of these cameras and the potential for further AI development that turns this into a drag net of innocent citizens, and that's where I draw the line," said O'Donnell.
O'Donnell and fellow neighbors got what they wished for: 14 Flock cameras operated by the Dare County Sheriff's Office will now be removed.
"I don't feel it's in the best interest of the public, I feel it's intrusive," said Commissioner Mike Burrus about the cameras just minutes before the board voted.
Dare County Sheriff Doug Doughtie and Deputy Sheriff Tyler Doughtie outlined DCSO's uses of the technology to the board Tuesday that they use for missing persons reports, conducting investigations and making arrests. DCSO had been using automatic license plate reader technology since 2014, but 2023 is when they officially started using Flock cameras.
"Cameras take still shots of vehicles, license plates that pass by in their window of view, no video recordings are capable with our cameras, cameras are not capable of facial recognition, data retention period is 30 days, and the total users on our system is 70 that have access to it," said Sheriff Doughtie during the presentation.
Sheriff Doughtie says there are only 29 people in his department with the ability to search for license plate information and vehicle identifiers. Also taking the time to explain who they share their information with.
"240 in state and 1,428 out of state. We share nothing with federal agencies. Zero. Information sharing, it allows us to search databases for our suspect vehicles on their systems," said Sheriff Doughtie.
Sheriff Doughtie and Deputy Sheriff Doughtie both explained that they've had no bad experiences with the technology since they started using it. Sheriff Doughtie also listed ways it's been successful in local crime fighting efforts.
"Success stories: The murder at Avalon Pier. Witness on scene had partial tags and description of the vehicle. The flock (camera) would later identify the correct model and license plate. Other law enforcement databases used to verify owner and operator. Alerting when the vehicle was coming back into Dare County, allowing officers to locate and arrest the suspect," said Sheriff Doughtie.
But after the amount of backlash about the cameras during the public comment period, multiple commissioners felt they needed to support their constituents.
"With numerous municipalities, county councils and commissions, and now even entire states getting rid of these Flock cameras, I have to respect the values of our constituents," said Commissioner Carson Creef.
For neighbors like O'Donnell, this is a start. But Flock cameras remain in use by law enforcement agencies in towns on the Outer Banks. The organization's mission is to have all of them gone.
"All the other towns will be seeing members of 'Deflock Dare' at their meetings, I'm highly confident in that. The next step is we're going to continue to write, receive feedback, and edit a ban on ALPR technology in Dare County," said O'Donnell.
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